Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen

The Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction thriller that has to be read to be believed. Baillie Gifford shortlisted, a favourite of Steven Bartlett, average reader rating of 4.6, sure to be a mass-market hit.

Up to now, no one outside of official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the Pentagon. Second by second and minute by minute, these are the real-life protocols that choreograph the end of civilisation as we know it. Frantic calls over secure lines work to confirm the worst as armoured helicopters are scrambled to evacuate the chosen few to secure bunkers. One nuclear missile will provoke two dozen in return. Decisions over hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, knowing that once launched, nothing is capable of halting the destruction.

Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts, Nuclear War is at once a compulsive non-fiction thriller and a powerful argument that we must rid ourselves of these world-ending weapons for ever.

About the Author: Annie Jacobsen is the bestselling author of Nuclear War- A Scenario, which was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize. A 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist, her other books include Area 51, Operation Paperclip and Surprise, Kill, Vanish, and have been translated into 26 languages. She also writes and produces TV, including Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two sons.

03 Jul 2025
 

Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen ISBN 9781804996003